Senior Director - Open Science Platform Architecture

Senior Director, Open Science Platform Architecture

The mission of the Allen Institute is to unlock the complexities of bioscience and advance our knowledge to improve human health. Using an open science, multi-scale, team-oriented approach, the Allen Institute focuses on accelerating foundational research, developing standards and models, and cultivating new ideas to make a broad, transformational impact on science.

The mission of the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is not only to provide state of the art engineering infrastructure to the Allen Institute as a whole, but to also address high-risk, high-reward questions in biology through AI.

We are seeking an independent and motivated Senior Director, Software Architecture & Open Science to lead the software engineering efforts to help execute on the long-term scientific computing strategy that powers the Allen Institute’s research programs, with a sustainable approach towards democratizing access to data, tools and computing infrastructure for the larger scientific community. Reporting to the Executive Director of Scientific Computing, the Senior Director will oversee the development of scalable computing platforms, data infrastructure, and engineering capabilities that support petascale biological datasets and large foundation models.

At the Allen Institute, we believe that science is for everyone – and should be open to everyone. We are dedicated to combating biases and reducing barriers to STEM careers more broadly. We also believe that science is better when it includes different perspectives and voices. We strive to make the Allen Institute a place where everyone feels like they belong and are empowered to do their best work in a supportive environment. We are an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourage people from all backgrounds to apply for our open positions.

Essential Functions

• Define and execute the Institute’s long-term strategy to scale computing platforms, data infrastructure, and data processing capabilities to support petascale biological data
• Establish governance frameworks and best practices for infrastructure usage and engineering standards
• Lead institute cloud strategy, ensuring scalability, performance, cost-effectiveness, and alignment to scientific priorities
• Build and lead a high-performance engineering team that upholds institute values and operational excellence
• Oversee the structural integrity of the software ecosystem, directly designing core components or reviewing and signing off on designs from others.
• Provide technical leadership for software architecture and design across the Institute, serving as a trusted authority and point of resolution when teams need clear direction.
• Define the vision for the Open Science Portal, data/knowledge release publishing mechanisms, and automated data and analysis provenance tracking.
• Foster strategic collaborations with academic institutions, nonprofits, technology companies, and community standards bodies to leverage cutting-edge technologies and strengthen the Allen Institute’s role as a life science technology hub
• Build and operate performant, configurable data processing pipelines for core data acquisition platforms, ensuring adoption of cloud-native community standard data formats
• Identify and adopt emerging technologies to ensure that Allen Institute stays at the forefront of technologies in life sciences
• Collaborate closely with research groups to understand their scientific computing needs and translate them into effective software solutions
• Oversee the development and maintenance of software and systems used for data acquisition, processing, analysis, visualization
• Partner with scientific and engineering teams across the Institute to enable breakthrough discovery at the intersection of biology and computation and advancing integrated, multimodal data platforms and resources that support open science and broad community use

*Note: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. This description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions; it does not proscribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.*

Required Education and Experience

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
• Minimum of 15 years of experience in computer science, data engineering, software development, machine learning or related fields
• Proven experience in scaling tools and algorithms for large datasets
• Strong expertise in cloud computing, including strategy, deployment, and management
• Experience managing and leading engineering teams across multiple departments
• Excellent strategic and operational planning skills
• Demonstrated success in forming and maintaining partnerships with technology companies
• Strong leadership, analytical, and problem-solving skills
• In-depth understanding of software engineering best practices
• Experience in mentoring and career development
• Passion for open science and a commitment to advancing scientific discovery

Preferred Education and Experience

• Experience in strategic planning and organizational vision and mission alignment, integrating scientific priorities with enterprise technology capabilities and operational excellence
• Experience in integrating multimodal data, AI/ML, and scalable computing into scientific workflows
• Extensive experience in managing large-scale and complex technology operations and multi-disciplinary teams
• Demonstrated capability in financial planning and oversight, people management, and meeting aggressive timelines
• Up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies in data engineering
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively in a multidisciplinary team environment, and being a spokesperson for the organization

Physical Demands

• Fine motor movements in fingers/hands to operate computers and other office equipment

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

• This role is currently able to work both remotely and onsite in a hybrid work environment. We are a Washington State employer, and the primary work location for all Allen Institute employees is 615 Westlake Ave N.; any remote work must be performed in Washington State.

Travel

• Attendance and participation in national and international conferences as appropriate

Additional Comments

• **Please note, this opportunity?offers?relocation assistance**
• **Please note, this opportunity?offers work visa sponsorship**

Annualized Salary Range

$224,200 - $294,250*

* Final salary depends on the required education for the role, experience, level of skills relevant to the role, and work location, where applicable.

Benefits

• Employees (and their families) are eligible to enroll in benefits per eligibility rules outlined in the Allen Institute’s Benefits Guide. These benefits include medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance. Employees are also eligible to enroll in the Allen Institute’s 401k plan. Paid time off is also available as outlined in the Allen Institutes Benefits Guide. Details on the Allen Institute’s benefits offering are located at the following link to the Benefits Guide:?https://alleninstitute.org/careers/benefits.

It is the policy of the Allen Institute to provide equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, the Allen Institute will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.